The Dark Side of Globalization

Abstract

A recent CIA report estimates that between 45,000 and 50,000 women and children are brought to the United States every year under false pretenses and are forced to work as prostitutes, abused laborers or servants. More than 700,000 people all around the world are trafficked every year for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labor. Besides being a human rights issue, trafficking in human beings is a public health concern due to the widespread infection of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. Additionally, it is a transnational organized crime and a socioeconomic issue. In Eastern Europe, a recognized “supply” and “demand” region, the practice is fed by economic disparity, corruption, lax law enforcement and is tied to global criminal economies. The estimated $15-billion international turnover from trafficking is on a par with the drug trade and an international crisis.